Gary and I had scheduled a Monday morning meeting in Chicago that required us to go there Sunday. So we decided to make the most of inconvenience and go out for a very good meal that Sunday night. And what a meal we had.
We knew about the meeting a month out so we had time to decide and get a reservation. So we created a list of possibilities and narrowed the list down to Table 52. This is Chef Art Smith’s place in Chicago which features Southern Cooking. I have seen Chef Smith several times on Iron Chef America and Top Chef. He was Oprah’s personal chef, recently cooked for Lady Gaga and President Obama and Michelle ate at Table 52 for Valentine’s Day so there was a really good chance it was going to be memorable. And it was.
Gary started his meal with the Southern Pickles. The dish came with several house-pickled cauliflower, carrots and okra with micro greens, onions, two kinds of salt, baguette, smoked gouda and jelly on the side. The idea was to make your own pickle sandwich out of the ingredients trying the different ingredients. I like participation dishes like this where you can choose your own combination of food so when Gary offered a taste, I went for it. The pickled vegetables were tender and sweetly pickled but not to the point where the taste of the vegetable was lost or the crunch was gone. The rest of elements added interesting tastes of sweet jam and salty salts along with different textures of crusty bread, crunchy pickles and gooey jam. Combining the different elements of the dish was fun but we both agreed that although the gouda cheese was fine on it’s own we couldn’t find a combination that matched well with the cheese.
I went for the Beet Salad for my first course. The salad came with nice portions of two colourful beets, whipped goat cheese, thyme crumble and Myer lemon puree. For what I thought was going to be a simple salad turned out to be a very complex dish by the various combination of items you could put on your fork. The sweetness of the beets matched well against the tartness of the Myer Lemon Puree and the almost metallic flavour of the Thyme Crumble. The textures of the dish also provided a spectrum of densities, firm beets, semi soft Whipped Goat Cheese and thick puree. We wanted wine with the meal and had our waiter match a glass of wine with each course. For this course we had Acustic from Montsant (Catalonia, Spain) named ‘unplugged’ in the same way that you find ‘naked’ (oak free) Chardonnay.
For Gary’s second course, he went for the classic southern dish Fried Green Tomatoes. The two large heirloom tomato slices were lightly battered and then pan-fried giving the tomatoes a light crunch with a soft center. Along with the tomatoes came fresh greens, creme fraise and a light tomato puree. Like an old married couple, Gary and I ended up sharing tastes from each others dishes so I can report this version of the southern classic was great. The sweetness of the fried tomatoes contrasting nicely with the spicy tomato puree. The crisp greens and silky puree matched well also. For this course, our waiter recommended the Eyrie Chardonnay from Oregon. I found the wine to have a light oakiness and a little bit fruity. A nice match for both the Fried Green tomatoes and my dish.
For my second course, I also went for a southern classic in Low-Country Shrimp and Grits. I lived in Florence, South Carolina back in the 80′s so I tried grits many times but never became a big fan but when you are at Art Smith’s restaurant you give them another try. It was great!. These grits were Stone-ground White Corn Grits and so different from my memories of the 80′s. These grits were more like a risotto than the cream of wheat memories. These grits were nice and creamy as a whole but the individual grits still had a bite to them as in “el dente” pasta. A very nice consistency. The Wild-Caught Shrimp were tender, sweet and well-cooked. The Spicy Tomato Sauce contrasted well with the sweet shrimp and creamy grits. Basically a very simple dish but well executed with excellent ingredients.
For Gary’s main course, he went for the Fish of the Day special, which was Halibut. I forgot to bring my recorder to get all the details of the dish but from my memory, the fish was pain fried and topped with a variety of vegetables and greens. I got to taste the fish and it was perfectly cooked with flakes falling off with just the touch of your folk. Halibut is my favourite fish and Table 52 did it right.
For the main course we decided to order the Braised Collard Greens with Smoked Turkey as our side dish. Collard Greens are about as “southern” as you can get but the smoked turkey was different twist I had not seen before. The more common version I had seen when I lived in the south was with ham hocks. The turkey version turned out fine with greens taking on a light sweet taste of the turkey but not the saltness of the ham version. The greens were well-cooked, infusing the turkey into the vegetable but stopping the cooking before turning the veggies into mush. This was the best dish of collard greens I have ever eaten.
For my main course, I went for the Maple Sugar Short Ribs. These were the most tender short ribs I ever had in my life. Just using your fork you could twist the meat and it would flake off into single strands of flavourful meat. The carmelized maple sugar matched well with meaty flavours of the short rib. The dish came with red wine reduction that match well but I was so focused on the tender meat. A potato puree was the matching starch and a carmelized onion accompanied the dish. Our waiter recommended the 2007 Cristom Pinot Noir to go with the dish. I thought this was an interesting recommendation given Gary’s fish and my short rib selection but it ended up being perfect for both of us. Not overcoming the fish and not under powered for the ribs. Nice wine selecting Justin.
I have had the privilege to eat in several celebrity chef restaurants; Emeril’s, Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill, BLT Prime, Daniel, over the years but one thing was always missing, the celebrity chef. Until this visit. Making several tours of the dining room during our three courses was owner/celebrity chef Art Smith. He stopped at every table checking to see how the meal was progressing. I thought the treat of the evening was going to be this photo of the two of us but it got better when Art joined us at our table as the restaurant thinned out at the end of service. They say that television puts pounds on you but this thinner and fitter version of Chef Smith has been dieting and exercising lately and looked the healthiest I have ever seen him. I wish I could say that about myself but after this great meal, I wouldn’t have much credibility would I.
It gets worse, Gary and I agreed that we were going to pass on dessert as we were both pretty full from the three courses, wine and cocktails we had already consumed. But as we sat there with Chef Smith he had the staff big over some desserts for us to try. First came the Smith Family Twelve-Layer Chocolate Cake. Delicious, light and a great chocolate flavour. The cake came with Vanilla Gelato and Strawberry for contrast.
Next came the Peanut Brittle. I remember peanut brittle as a Christmas treat during my childhood but this was the best brittle I ever had. The thick rich harden caramel sauce was chock full of fresh Georgia peanuts. I was amazed at how thick the brittle was. It was very good and very sweet.
Finally Executive Chef John, formerly of Charlie Trotter’s restaurant, brought over Art’s Hummingbird Cake. I had my share of cake when I lived in the south but never had Hummingbird cake. If I had most likely I would still be in the south cause this is great cake. Art make his version with Banana and Pineapple flavours three layers high all coated in Cream Cheese Frosting. Served on the side is a wonderful Vanilla Gelato. It was delicious with all the different flavours going on and amazingly light.
We had a great chat with Chef Smith during our 30 minute sit-down talking about everything from the making of Iron Chef, his diet and exercise plan, to who’s cooking in Chicago he likes (and who’s he doesn’t) and where he likes to go hear the Blues in Chicago. The evening ending amazingly with Chef taking us to his favourite Blues Club in Chicago and having a couple of cocktails listening happily to the blues.
It was an amazing meal that will, most likely, never happen again. Thanks Gary and Chef Smith for a great meal and a great story.
Read other reviews about Table 52 here, here and here.
Table 52 52 Elm Street, Chicago, IL – 312-573-4000
I wanted to get together with Amy to catch up and learn from her about online strategies for Managed Markets. I have known Amy for many years since she was doing Media Strategies for our Pharma brands and Internet Media was just starting. Amy has moved on to Managed Markets which is becoming very important to many brands. So where do we eat in New Brunswick? I suggested we go to Catherine Lombardi’s for some classic American Italian Food. The well decorated dining room also allows enough privacy for a business meeting a great food to nourish us. So Amy agreed to meet me there.
After we caught up on what we both have been doing recently I suggest we get my Favourite Appetizer, the Prosciutto di San Daniele with Parmigiano-Reggiano. I like this appetizer because of the quality of the ingredients and the contrast between taste and texture. The Prosciutto is custom cut for each order at the bar allowing you watch as they cut. The meat is moist and slightly sweet. The Parmigiano-Reggiano is freshly cut into bit-sized cubes providing a contrast by being slightly salty and slightly el-dente. The added feature to the dish are the Balsamic Cherries that contast with both the meat and cheese. The size of the portion is large enough for two to share and even take a snack back to the office for a late afternoon bite. (Thanks Amy)
Happy New Year to all my Jewish friends and readers. It’s also Donna’s Birthday on Monday so when I was in search of a birthday cake or cupcakes for her I went to Crossroads Bake Shop in Doylestown. Crossroads had done such a great job on the 
The great news was that the slices were Very Moist and flavourful. Donna and I seem to detect almost a Spice Cake flavour rather than a “Honey” flavour that we anticipated based on the name of the cake. The small portion slices require me to take two slices so I could ensure for my readers that the quality of the cake was consistent. (LOL – what I do for my readers) It was good but the distribution of almonds make the bites interesting as sometime you got them and sometimes not. The moist dense cake with the interesting spice and almonds is a great cake and regardless of your holiday worth buying.
It was poker night at Cafe Europe and my birthday so it was a perfect storm for me. Chef Joey created two appetizer specials for the night, a seaseme seed crusted chicken tenders with a honey soy sauce and a Filet Mignon skewer with a merlot demi-glace. I went for the Filet Mignon medium rare. Donna tried the chicken special and Ryan went for the Penne alla Vodka based on
For my appetizer, I went for Crayfish off the daily special menu. I was also looking at the Acadian Barbequed Shrimp but they came shell-on and I could only imagined getting my shirt covered in BBQ Shimp juices, so I went for pre-shelled Crayfish. It was a good choice. The sweet meat was well balanced against the slight heat from the broth. I was impressed by the amount of crayfish I got and how tender each one was. It felt like I was back in New Orlean’s again. Very nice appetizer.
For dessert, I convinced Donna to try Cherry Cheesecake Ice Cream and I went for the Rice Pudding. The restaurant-made ice cream was smooth and tasting very much like cherry cheesecake. It was very nice. Lino snagged us some Guinness Ice Cream as a sample. At first that tasted like coffee ice cream but as the ice cream warmed the flavour changed and you could taste the Guiness flavour. It was very interesting and very good.
The closest to me was the Jewish Apple Cake served at the Town Crier Bakery just down the road in Lahaska. The authors Jane and Michael Stern report (page 91 -where was stuff like this when I had to do book reviews – LOL) that the cake is not make with butter despite being very moist and that make the cake a perfect dessert to go with a Kosher dairy of meat meal. I have learned recently that a Kosher meal can not have dairy and meat in the same meal so this cake give the meal planners more options. Apparently the Jewish folks just call it Apple Cake.
We had supper Saturday
Last night I posted about the 
The Tartlets come four to a box with each one weighing in at 4 ounces each. You buy them by the dozen. In my case it was buy a dozen and get a second dozen for just 1 cent. So that each tartlet worked out be about 70 cents each. So who could pass that deal up. LOL
The pre-nuked dessert showed the Thick Caramel Sauce, the sugar crystal sticking to the outsides of the pastry tart. The directions for heating are simple nuke for 70 seconds or 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven. I went for the 70 seconds cause I wanted it yesterday. LOL
One of my favourite scenes in Billy Crystal’s movie City Slickers is when Billy challenges the “Ben & Jerry” guys to the “what ice cream goes with any food contest”. It was kind of like that tonight as we were trying to figure out which ice cream goes best with caramel apple tartlet. Donna and I decided to go with Butter Pecan.
My boss, Heidi and her husband Paul hosted an Open House this weekend at their home just outside of Newtown. It was a great affair with friends from work and Paul and Heidi’s neighbours coming together over some great food. 
The wines also went well with the Cheese Display that the Caterer put together for the event. There are six different cheese to chose from along with some melon, pineapple, blueberries, strawberries and blackberries.
There were two savory appetizers ready for us when we arrived. The first was Caramelized Onion and Arugula Strudels. These pinwheel apps contain a sweet onion and slightly bitter arugula mixture. The smoothness of the mixture contrasted nicely with crisp texture of the phyllo dough. Simple combination but well executed.
The second savory appetizer was the Lemongrass Shrimp. These tasty shrimp skewers were well prepared with the lemongrass giving the delicate shrimp a light Thai flavour. The pineapple presentation gave the shrimp a tropical feel and great decoration for the table.
Facebook Friend and co-worker Kara brought her Vegan White Bean Dip with some Taco Chips. The dip was nice ‘n thick and creamy. I detected a slight garlic flavour in the dip. Kara also brought a Hummus dip that brought the garlic a little stronger. Both were welcome additions to the table as they were homemade and well made.
As if the many appetizer wasn’t enough about 4:00, the caterer opened up with full blast of entree bites for us to enjoy. The first dish on the kitchen buffet was a Rosemary Marinated Filet Mignon. Served at room temperature, the tender beef was served with a Creamy Horseradish Sauce. The tang of the sauce contrasted nicely with sweet herb infused meat.
The second dish was a perfectly Poached Salmon with a Creamy Dill Sauce. Well presented with carrots, lemon, limes and orchid flowers giving great colour to the dish. The salmon portions were delicious with a great salmon taste, sweat with a little taste of the sea. The dill sauce contrasted with the sweetness of the flesh. A drop of lemon juice made the salmon flavour intensify.
The surprise of the main entrees was the Portabella Mushroom Caps with Leak Ragout. The meaty portabella mushrooms were coated by a creamy Leak Ragout. The contrast of the dense, meaty mushrooms and the almost cheese like ragout was very nice. This vegetarian dish was a nice change from all the protein in the Filet and Salmon.
The Roasted Red Bliss Potatoes were matched up with some Balsamic Vinaigrette with Feta Cheese. The sweetness of the potatoes matched well with vinegar and the salty cheese making a nice potato salad. The small bite-sized potatoes went well with the main entrees of filet and salmon.
The Long Grain and Wild Rice Salad also went well with salmon. At first I thought the plump pieces of fruit were raisins but come to find out the were Sun-dried Cranberries that were plumping up from the Sage Vinaigrette. I passed on the Rice Salad but others passed pleasing comments on how well the rice was cooked and the nice contrast of the sage in the vinaigrette and the sweetness of the rice.
For dessert, the caterer put together a comprehensive tray of different confections and fresh fruits. I won’t even try to name all the different pastries and sweet bites are on the tray. I did try the Mini Cream Puffs and Eclairs along with some fruit but take a look and I bet you can find a least a couple of goodies you could complete the meal with.
We all decided to share the different appetizers so we could all get a taste of them and then compare. I had the Tuna Tartare. The generous portion of tuna was served over avocado and lime soy sauce with potato crisps. I liked this dish. The sweet tuna and avocado matched well with the salty line-soy sauce. The creamy tuna and avocado contrasted nicely with potato crisps giving each portion a nice mouth feel. A tasty and filling appetizer.
Ryan went for the classic Caesar Salad. BLT Prime serves a generous portion with two large croutons. For some reason the prepared the salad by placing the dressing in the middle of the salad leaving the top leaves of lettuce undressed. After mixing the salad and getting all the greens dressed it turned into a very good Caesar Salad but Ryan was kind enough to say it wasn’t as good as 
Erin called it the most “Bad Ass” appetizer ever, Grilled Double Cut Bacon. The dish came with four slices of double thick, slightly smoked grilled bacon. The great grill marks, sauteed garlic and parsley bites and bacon aroma made this appetizer a new classic for me. We each tried a slice and it was the best bacon I have ever had. Meaty, sweet, slightly smokey and a nice char from the grill. Definitely Bad Ass. Try it.
Ryan went for the NY Strip steak. Sixteen ounces of 28 day aged meaty delight. Perfectly cooked to a medium rare and accompanied by a selection of sauces; Bearnaise, Peppercorn, Red Wine and Horseradish. Ryan was loving this steak.
Erin and I decide to split the BLT Cut, Bone in Double Cut Sirloin. Again 28 days of dry ageing and cooked to perfection medium rare. At 32 ounces it was perfect to share giving us a reasonable amount of meat each. The staff carved the steak before presenting it to us making it easy to select portions from the serving dish to enjoy on our plates. The first bite was amazing, tender, a lite char on the outside and earthy sweet meat on the inside. Meat perfection in a bite. I tried the meat with the different sauces and each one brought a different note to each bite but even on it’s own the steak was perfect.
